Ok, So I'm a little early, but there is much partying and studying to do for the following days! So as a New Years Special, here's summarized comments for Chapters 437-439 (As I'm sure you don't want to go through a bunch of small commentaries for past chapters, and fortunately these chapters were quite small), and full 10 Comments for Chapter 440 and DBZ Cross Over, "Cross EPOCH!"

(Thanks to Yonie, Cez, and Franky House for the scanlations!)

Each seperated with their spoiler tags for convenience!

Chapters 437, 438, 439
437: Naked But Great

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Ah a chapter devoted to the life and joining of Franky. Just to make it clear to those who may be confused as I was at first, earlier in this chapter when Robin was torturing Franky, she was NOT crushing his er thingy, rather the things BEHIND them, hence the grape and oranges references. Either way no man deserves that kind of treatment. EVER! Ah please remember ladies of the forum to never abuse us men that way :darn.

Well after that bit of excitement, we take a look at the formation of the Franky Family. I guess even homeless hobos can earn jobs as ship dismantlers hehe. We even get to learn about Frankys true dream, contradicting his old statement of never building a ship again, and focusing on riding his dream ship across the world! May Franky show that even a true man can shed tears of might and joy, pantless or not!

For those who haven't got it yet, Franky is now an official member of the Straw Hat Pirates :p!

438: Pride
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With these words, Zoro has managed to state the minds of many fans. Pride is something that should never be taken lightly, real world or One Piece world. Here I'm really surprised that Luffy didn't get it, but I suppose that best friends can be ignorant of it at times. When Usopp left, as soon as he challenged the pride of Luffy as a captain, he gave up his pride as a pirate. Zoro's not saying that everyone should know their place in the status quo, he's saying that when you make a decision, you must make it with pride.

This being said, no matter how much the crew is willing to forgive Usopp, he cannot properly rejoin until he decides with his heart where his pride should go in his life, be it a pirate or alone.

And of course...

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With the motivation of fear of being forever alone, Usopp realizes his mistakes, and asks for forgiveness, which he instantly recieves!
Hopefully from this experience, Usopp has taken a huge step towards his dream of becoming a warrior of the sea!

439: (No Idea What the Title Is)
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The ship has a name!
At first I thought the name sounded really REALLY funny :p. Then I saw the explanation with the thousand suns, instant acceptance.
So now from the Merry, we have the Sunny. Hmm... *Thinks of what else to say about the name*

It's cool! :party
After the naming, this chapter basically went on to show us a teaser of what this ship can do, with the help of a marine chase of course!

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:yelling Were they dragging that thing with their ship?!?! More proof of Garp's awsomeness :smile-big!

And with this example, Franky assures us that the Sunny will not be a dissapointment. If it can fly with this little effort, I now have no doubt about it's ability to head underwater!

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And we can't forget a cameo from two of our favorite marines, Tashigi and Smoker! Smokey's still as badpunk as ever, and I think Tashigi has gone abit on the beauty scale! Thus ends the fanservice... for now :eyeroll.

1. Reaction #1: The Baratie
So a good portion of this chapter was based on reactions of the new bounties, what else to do but comment on them hehe.

As expected, Sanjis name has gone down as a dangerous man, but his face on the other hand not as much. As the Baratie is a ship filled with ex-pirates as staff, its only reasonable that theyre proud to have been the housing of one. Although I cant tell for sure if theyre praising him, or mocking him. Maybe both?

Sanji has become a huge advertisement for the already famous Baratie restaurant, and if the marines have a problem with it, they better suck it up or face a bunch of battle-ready chefs. Wait, will customers actually eat at such a place?

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Stingy Old Man!

2. Reaction 2: Fuschia Town
Does Miss Bar Lady ever age? I wonder if she also knows the secret to youth
With their reactions, reminders of why the marines must die arise. Chopper being cute is understandable, but a PET? Bodies shall roll!

And then we have Mr. Chief, who is actually reacting similar to his anime-filler counterpart earlier in the series. Does he have friends of his own? He doesnt seem to hold that much faith in Luffy as a pirate either, but Im sure hell come around some day.... month .. year . Scratch that -.-.

Earlier we had mass discussions of who was the friend that Garp left Luffy with to train. Many speculated it was either Mr. Stingy there, or Shanks himself. I personally believed it was Miss Bar Lady. But now with the introduction of this Dadan character, Im sure now that many opinions will switch. For some reason the name Dadan reminds me of an elderly lady, maybe Luffys Grandma?

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Masks for everyone!

3. Reaction #3: Usopp Pirates GO!
Does Sogekings nose look a bit crooked in that poster? Ah anyway, it looks like the whole of East Blue is getting the news. Again following the anime-fillers, Kaya is still able to recognize Usopp despite his hidden profile. And following the role of a hero, UsoKing has inspired what we know today as cosplay! Hopefully the kids will realize that the mask in the poster is broken, and make masks that dont have cracks or missing edges.

Looks like the town is still totally oblivious of what happened to Usopp. They must have noticed he's gone by now. Aw well, like Kaya said, soon Usopp will become world famous, and the world will come to know him as a great warrior of the sea. The King of Snipers, SOGEKING!

On a side note, does Kaya look a bit different from the first time we saw her? Its nice to know that she recovered completely from that state of depression. Cheers to one of the only cannon pairings that Oda has made!

4. Reaction #4: The Dojo
Thinking way back, I remember Mr. Sensei talking to Zoro about cutting steal, wich then makes me wonder: where does he stand against Zoro? We never get to see him fight against anyone except for a piece of paper, so could he be as strong as current Zoro?

Now how the heck did word leak out about Zoros training home? Im sure his classmates must have moved on by now, hey maybe one even helps teach there now! What still stands is that Zoro has become popular with the students, and it seems that the possibility for more pirates to the New Age has now opened. Mr. Sensei really has aged though, with all those wrinkles on his face.

This fandom seems troublesome to Mr. Sensei, but apparently hes still OK with it as long as Zoro focuses on what it means to be a true swordsman. Wonder how Kuina is doing on the other side

5. Reaction #5: Kokoyashi Village
We have two main reactions from Namis poster: Sexy and Dangerous! Mr. Gen seems to disapprove of all of the above, even resorting to contacting the Navy Base. Hehe, blowing up that poster picture makes his chivalry questionable though. Nojiko on the other hand is showing no sings of regret as long as Nami stays happy.

Bellmere also seems to continue her support for Namis decision, having her spirit blow that windmill gracefully. Oh and those flowers too!

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Oooh I want to know the secret! :darn

6. Reaction #6: Drum Island
Not only East Blue, but even the Grand Line! These posters are going WORLDWIDE!

Ah I totally forgot about Dalton being the new king of the island, though he doesnt seem to like the role at all, sticking himself right along side his subjects. I suppose Dr. Kureha is more the Empress, living in the castle with all that power and all. Its nice to know she hasnt changed, though I wonder why the village folk continue to refuse her offer to her secret of youth. It cant be that bad . Right?

And based on reactions, Dr. Kureha still cares for her son, HURRAY!~

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We're done reactions, now to the revolutions!

7. These guys are dangerous
For this army to be run by Luffys dad, how long have they been moving? From the sounds of things, it seems like theyve already finished conquering a majority of South Blue, and are now ready for another ocean. This organization is no pushover, possibly even bigger than Baroque Works, and definitely tougher! They also all seem to have funny black hats hehe.

Then their reaction to Luffys bounty is surprising as well. They dont seem to be shocked or moved in any way. I suppose pirates are just bugs compared to the World Government itself. They also appear to know about Garps relation with Luffy. Do they knkow about Dragons?

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Speaking of Dragon, note that that box says "Most Wanted Man." Luffy and Dragon will definitely have to meet someday, although I doubt Luffy will approve of Dragon's ideals as they seems a bit more er... actually I'm not sure what the word I'm looking for here is :p.

8. A Past Confrontation
Finally what weve all been waiting for, Ace Vs. Teach!
Ace certainly didnt take the time to warm up, going for the kill ASAP. Those explosions are intense! We also get to see more of the Blackbeard crew in action, having Auger shoot Ace right through the art without hesitation, and a show on Burgesss amazing strength of able to jump and throw a building! Unfortunately for them, Ace owns them all with his massive arsenal of fire weapons and techniques.

Even Blackbeard himself admits it to his crew, telling them to stay back from the fight. It doesnt help them much either way, fire spreads quickly and fast!

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I have lost my respect for this man

9. A Devils Fruit, Blackbeards Ambitions!
Well we now know that the death of his nakama wasnt due to senseless violence. Also this revealment of a Devils Fruit Catalogue helps explain how several Power-Users know what fruit they have. Strange how Spandam never got one though... *Shrug* I guess he was either too cheap to buy one, or too dumb. Now that its mentioned if its common to find Devil Fruits in WhiteBeards crew, how many do they have now exactly? More reason to call them the strongest pirate crew, and an explanation to Aces Fire power.

What really bothers me is how Teach totally put his ambition above his nakama, killing them all just so that he could gain power despicable. And to think he can still use the word with such pride...

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And a jerk!

10. A Special Kind of Power
Well the fruit he stole had to be big right? How big we asked? How bout not even a common element big. From past Logias, we know that they have the power to morph into their element, use their element to change their surrounding environment, and morph their element into desired shapes. This means that Blackbeard has gone way up in the power-scale, and dont forget he was just like Ace, being super strong even before eating the fruit, being able to wound Shanks and kill his nakama and all that. So now with the addition of being powerful, he can now probably morph into a dark entity, create an area of complete darkness, create shadow weapons, and even imitate Shikamarus Shadow binds without limits!

Rating: 5 out of 5 bentos, as that last part really freaked me out and Im itching to see the outcome of this fight!

NEW Predictions: Blackbeard will show us some of his power, and sadly show Ace the meaning of pain .

What better way to start a crossover with a man of glass! Hercule / Mr. Satan surprisingly fits the role of a king, having already the power to make people happy. But then how did he become king? Hercule is known fan-wide as the Foxy of the Dragon Ball world, so some kind of trick was definitely involved. Well at least the people are happy.

Seriously how does he make people happy like that? Its like he just smiles and flexes, and people die happy. I just dont get it!

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The Rocketman is nothing compared to this!

2. Kuri-Chopa!
May the cameos begin!
Who else to start with but Chopper himself! Oh Krillen too I guess.

As train engineers of the Epoch world, these two look really successful judging from the crowd lined up outside. Too bad with the suspicious rising of the new king (Thank goodness someone other than us readers noticed), the coaster is closed for apparent personal enjoyment. They dont look really regretful though do they?

Sorry folks, but the Train Coaster is taking a separate route today rather than its original who-knows-where destinations.

3. Professionals at Work
Up next we have the Nami and Bulma pair, appearing as a pair of super space thieves.

Hmm do you think that both artists had to draw their characters and then paste them into the background for this chapter, or did Oda actually master copying the style of Dragon Ball? Meh anyway .

Looks like the Epoch world is leaning more towards the Dragon Ball world with its zenny currency and spaceships. All characters still have their traits though, with Nami still being an excellent navigator, and Bulma destroying all in her path. They even decided to blow up the ship they just stole from!

For some reason that ship reminds me of Friezas ship, you dont think that it could be ? Nah! Also why is the only door apparent on their ship labeled bath?

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No need to ask what these two have in common

4. From Space to Deserts
K&S? Shouldnt it be R&S? Maybe Im missing Roshis other name, but either way we now have our main upholders of law in the Epoch World. Not much else to say for them except that theyre also heading towards the destination. And as character states, both could care less for the law when girls are involved. Actually, from the looks of things, these two may actually just be using the excuse of the law so that they can barge into houses and bathrooms without getting in trouble .

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What to blow up next...

5. Pirates Forever
Is there some sort of theme that Im missing, or what is with those horns that everyones wearing? From here on Im just gonna call these guys the Vegeta Pirates. With their small crew, we can see homage to Enel from the flying ship, Usopp as Tao Pai Pai, and pirates of course! It seems like these pirates are based on dualing rather than adventures though, but at least Usopp is still aiming for his dream as a brave warrior of the sea, er sky! Oh and Trunks still has his sword, so cool!

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Lost... Again

6. Return of Mr. Bushido and Friend
And the trend continues, with different scenarios, but same characterizations. Except now even Piccolo has no sense of direction! Do you suppose Zoro is contagious? Or maybe ithas something to do with being a swordsman. Ah but these two arent just ordinary swordsmen, Oda or whoever wrote the script has taken Vivis words of Mr. Bushido and turned Zoro and friend into samurai (Note that tied up hair thing that symbolizes samurai)!

Piccolo also seems to have lost his ability to fly, that or he just doesnt want to. Instead, the 2 samurai are riding lion-deer thingies to get to that destination.

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Is carrying all that meat by bag actually a good idea?

7. Heroes on the Coast
Finally the protagonists make an appearance, both already on the move towards the destination! Note that Luffy is wearing his blue shorts in here maybe a sign that Oda is planning to give another fashion change to Luffy? Of all the cameos shown through this cross over, these two are probably the least changed of all. Both are still heroes, and both still out for adventure whenever possible. Of course with heroes, you can expect there to be villains.

8. Villains Unite
Buggy and Pilaf somewhat expected. They are both idiots after all, and obviously so is their crew. Could I please get a translator to identify what that symbol on their hats are? Very short comment about idiots at work we can all see where this is going

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Did they really stand a chance?

9. MASSIVE ATTACK COMBO
Paper . Mâché? They were planning to beat them with papier-mâché? Those guys are idiots! Kind of overkill with the Bazooha combo, but hey, whatever gets the job done. Of course after all that, the artists obviously needed to cram more action into the story, so throw in a Vegeta Ki Blast attack, and a double back slash, the results are instant toasted villains in a 10 foot crater. Despite how short that was, I have to admit that was really cool!

Now a dark sky, new suspicious king, a secret destination, what could it all lead to? The next comment of course!

10. Party of Dreams
Well, the picture is kinda self explanatory. Pulling out of his barrier, the mighty dragon has decided to become social, with a tea party! At first I thought it looked like Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, but then I looked again, and realized, that past book/movie is nothing compared to this! Oh and scratch that previous comment about Luffys pant colour, it looks like it reverted back to black in this panel.

So jealous of them so much food everywhere!

Rating: I give this chapter 4.9 out of 5 Strawberries, soley for my personally need of a more intense fight, which I usually expect from anything involving Dragon Ball characters. :p

More info abound, we now find the Moon-Ossan's nakama, sprawled andd efeated on the ground. Whatever they had to fight, must have been powerful, that or these guys are super weak. Their choice of weapons also seem quite limited, a small shotgun, sword, and club. Not very moon-futuristic at all from my PoV. So who or what is able to cause this kind of destruction?

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Not a rabbit, but a fox of all things! And not just an ordinary fox, an ALIEN fox ;)!
And finally we get to see an alien weapon. The captions say it's a gun, but it looks more like a spear to me. *Shrug* Whatever it is, it still has the ability to hurt, and pierce too! Poor Moon-Ossan over there is done for the moment, and Enel is left standing and pondering all alone.

Hey that fox is a pirate too, look at his hat! With a pirate, must come a crew. Question is: how many?

That's all for comments, if you've read it all in order.Iif not I strongly urge you to read the rest! Well hope your new years is a happy one, and if not go eat some cookies and check with me again. Later for now, oh and comment away~!

~Happy New Years Everyone~
Comment away!

Silhouette

December 30, 2006, 07:11 AM

Hey thanks for the review
I agree with you on why Zoro took that stand in regard to Ussop. It adds wisdom and depth - if i may say- to a character that is perceived mostly as a stern swordsman

mugen

December 30, 2006, 03:58 PM

thanks
your comments are always good :jbya

venicia777

December 30, 2006, 08:55 PM

ahhh!!! i have been dreading how much time and effort you will have to put into this project since your last announcement.

More grease to your elbows :ossu

thanks
your comments are always good :jbya

and i do hope to see more comments/responses from Mugen :rofl in these sections

Garaku

January 01, 2007, 09:19 PM

Updated and finsihed! Enjoy everyone!

mugen

January 01, 2007, 09:33 PM

thanks for the comments :jbya

Silhouette

January 02, 2007, 09:06 AM

I enjoyed your review thanks

mmm anyone else thinks the alient weapon is producing lighning? I mean look at the pic when Spacey gets pierced..,what looks like lighning bolts are coming from the sides of the spear/gun